In Malawi, one in five households looks after an orphaned or abandoned child. More often than not, these families are already struggling financially since 69.6% of the population live under the international poverty line (World Bank, 2017), surviving on just over £1 a day.
For them, the additional costs of an extra child are simply too much. Unfortunately, as a result, these children often do not have access to essential nutrition, shelter, healthcare, education, and parental care.
At Open Arms, we offer a solution. Once a child returns home from one of our infant homes, we continue to support them and their families through our outreach programme which provides basic essentials.
This is more than just sponsorship. When you sponsor a child with Open Arms, over time a bond develops between sponsor and child as you follow them grow and reach their potential.
When you sign up to support, you will:
Most importantly, however, you will be a part of the solution to Malawi’s chronic orphan problem.
Every week, the Open Arms outreach team pay visits to children that have moved on from Open Arms and are now safely back with their extended families Our outreach programme ensures a smooth transition and means that we can continue to monitor children’s health and development and offer professional advice and support to families where necessary.
In Malawi, it is mostly grandparents who take care of the reintegrated children as is the case with other African countries which have been profoundly affected by the HIV epidemic. This is despite the fact that older persons have little or no economic support (UNICEF, 2019). As a result, families sometimes struggle to support reintegrated children.
For these families, Open Arms provides a small monthly payment. By asking the guardian to visit Open Arms with their child to collect their cash transfer we are able to stay in touch and make sure that children and their families are coping.
Your regular contribution will go towards our monthly grants and outreach programme.
In order to sponsor a child in the community, please complete the form below. A member of our team will be in touch shortly.
The return of a child from Open Arms Infant Homes to their community to live with their brothers and sisters, uncles, aunts and grandparents is a bitter sweet occasion for us.
Read MoreYour donation will help children in Malawi grow up healthy with the love of a family
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